Closely Akin to Murder (Claire Malloy Series #11)

by Joan Hess Joan Hess

eBook

$7.99

Customer Reviews

ISBN-13:

9781429958158

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: 09/29/2009
Series: Claire Malloy Series , #11
Sold by: Macmillan
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 187,812
File size: 299 KB

JOAN HESS is the author of both the Claire Malloy and the Maggody mystery series. She is a winner of the American Mystery Award, a member of Sisters in Crime, and a former president of the American Crime Writers League. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

PRAISE FOR JOAN HESS AND THE CLAIRE MALLOY SERIES

“Well-paced suspense spiced with wry wit.”—Boston Sunday Herald on Closely Akin to Murder

“Clever…irreverent murder and mayhem.”—Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate on Closely Akin to Murder

“Wickedly amusing.”—Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine on Busy Bodies

“Witty, pithy, and beautifully plotted…my favorite Claire Malloy so far.”—Patricia Moyes on Busy Bodies

“Intriguing…an amusing look at the universal human comedy.”—Fort Smith Times Record

“If you’ve never spent time with Claire and her crew, I feel sorry for you. Stop reading this nonsense and hop to it. You’ll see wit and humanity all wrapped up in a nifty murder mystery.”

—Harlan Coben

“Delightful…worthy of Hercule Poirot in the classic Death on the Nile.”—Publishers Weekly on Mummy Dearest

“A good substitute for a trip to Egypt.”—Deadly Pleasures on Mummy Dearest

“Hess fans will find much to entertain them...”—Publishers Weekly on Damsels in Distress

“Lively, sharp, irreverent.”—The New York Times Book Review on Poisoned Pins

“Larcenous shenanigans…breezy throughout.”—Chicago Tribune on Poisoned Pins

“With her wry asides, Claire makes a most engaging narrator. The author deftly juggles the various plot strands…the surprising denouement comes off with éclat.”—Publishers Weekly on Out on a Limb

“A winning blend of soft-core feminism, trendy subplots, and a completely irreverent style that characterizes both the series and the sleuth.”—Houston Chronicle

“A wildly entertaining series.”—Mystery Scene

“Joan Hess is one of the best mystery writers in the world. She makes it look so easy that few readers and fewer critics realize what a rare talent hers is.”—Elizabeth Peters, author of Tomb of the Golden Bird

“Joan Hess is seriously funny. Moreover, she is seriously kind as well as clever when depicting the follies, foibles, and fantasies of our lives. Viva Joan!”—Carolyn Hart, author of Dead Days of Summer

“Fresh and funny…her trademark humor is stamped on every page.”—Publishers Weekly, on The Goodbye Body

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At first it seems like a prank. How could Veronica Landonwood be the voice on the other end of the phone when she died three decades ago? But as Arkansas bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy is about to find out, her cousin "Ronnie" is very much alive--and in trouble. And could use Claire's help…

Today, Ronnie is a renowned scientist living in Chicago. But when she was a teenager, she had a run-in with a famous Hollywood producer in Acapulco, Mexico. He attempted to sexually assault her--and she killed him. Having served time in prison, Ronnie finally put her this episode behind her…until now. Just when she has a real shot at the Nobel Prize, a ruthless blackmailer is threatening to expose the secrets of her past. Can Claire help to preserve Ronnie's reputation and keep her out of harm's way? That will depend on Claire's investigation--and what really happened on the night of the murder so many years ago…

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Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Agatha, Macavity and American Mystery Award winner Hess sends her bookseller sleuth Claire Malloy (seen last in Busy Bodies) far from her small Arkansas town of Farberville in this tightly woven tale. Out of the blue, Claire receives a call from a cousin whom she understood to have died 30 years earlier. Veronica Landonwood, who at age 17 was jailed for murdering an American movie producer in Mexico, has since made a new life for herself as a medical researcher. But now, she says, someone is threatening to reveal her past if she doesn't hand over $1 million and she insists that Claire, whose detecting exploits she has secretly followed, is the only one who can save her. Claire takes her teenage daughter, Caron, to Acapulco to find out who among those involved in the murder and subsequent trial is still living and might be blackmailing her cousin. When their hotel keeper is murdered and Caron is abducted for ransom, Claire is thrown in with a Mexican family of dubious means. She sets out on a path, marked by seven bodies and nearly as many mistaken identities, that takes her to Arizona and Illinois before leading her and Caron safely back in Farberville. Hess knots deceit upon deceit into this suspenseful story, whose tone is lightened by Claire's quick wit and warm heart. Mystery Guild selection. (May) ~ FYI: Hess also writes the Maggody mystery series.

Library Journal

Bookseller and series sleuth Claire Malloy answers cousin Veronica's plea for help-even though the woman supposedly died 30 years ago after murdering a Hollywood producer. Now, a blackmailer threatens to expose Veronica's new identity and the scandal. Juicy reading.

School Library Journal

YA-A phone call from her supposedly dead cousin, Veronica, sends Claire Malloy to Mexico seeking new answers to a 30-year old murder. Veronica enlists Claire's sleuthing skills to find out the identity of a blackmailer who is trying to ruin her career as a research scientist and the truth about the murder. It takes a kidnapping, a wild car chase, and several deaths before Claire pieces together the puzzle and comes up with some bizarre answers. Hess weaves the complex and well-organized plot tightly together using Claire's snappy remarks and continuous dialogue as the basic foundation for communicating events. Numerous details and several red herrings add interest and build anticipation right up to the end. Featuring a unique brand of humor and a fast-paced plot with plenty of adventurous diversions, this entertaining series entry, with its surprise ending, will appeal to teen audiences.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Boston Sunday Herald on Closely Akin to Murder

Well-paced suspense spiced with wry wit.

Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate on Closely Akin to Murder

Clever…irreverent murder and mayhem.

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine on Busy Bodies

Wickedly amusing.

Patricia Moyes on Busy Bodies

Witty, pithy, and beautifully plotted…my favorite Claire Malloy so far.

Fort Smith Times Record

Intriguing…an amusing look at the universal human comedy.

Harlan Coben

If you've never spent time with Claire and her crew, I feel sorry for you. Stop reading this nonsense and hop to it. You'll see wit and humanity all wrapped up in a nifty murder mystery.

Deadly Pleasures on Mummy Dearest

A good substitute for a trip to Egypt.

The New York Times Book Review on Poisoned Pins

Lively, sharp, irreverent.

Chicago Tribune on Poisoned Pins

Larcenous shenanigans…breezy throughout.

Houston Chronicle

A winning blend of soft-core feminism, trendy subplots, and a completely irreverent style that characterizes both the series and the sleuth.

Mystery Scene

A wildly entertaining series.

author of Tomb of the Golden Bird Elizabeth Peters

Joan Hess is one of the best mystery writers in the world. She makes it look so easy that few readers and fewer critics realize what a rare talent hers is.

author of Dead Days of Summer Carolyn Hart

Joan Hess is seriously funny. Moreover, she is seriously kind as well as clever when depicting the follies, foibles, and fantasies of our lives. Viva Joan!